Explaining Autism To My Son : (

We try really hard not to talk about Sammy's Autism in front of him.  If we are talking about Autism we don't attach his name to it.  I don't want him feeling like there is something wrong with him or feeling like he's somehow different than his peers.
Yesterday I got the kids loaded in the car and I as sat down in the drivers seat I heard my son say, "Momma,  you know I have Autism don't you"?  
Hearing him say that brought me to tears.  I asked him to repeat what he had just said and I asked him where he heard that.  He didn't say but only said that one of the little girls in his class had it too.  
 I sat there holding back my tears and explained to my son as best as I could about Autism.  
I told him that some children have Autism and some have it worse than others.  It doesn't make them different than the other children it just means that he and the others who have it just need a little extra help sometimes.  I told him it was nothing to be ashamed of because sometimes we all need a little extra help.  How else do you explain Autism to a 5 year old?
I'm guessing either he heard us talking about it when we didn't think he was listening or he heard something about it at school.  I told his teacher about it and we discussed it but she assured me that they don't talk about the special needs children with other parents or children because of confidentiality issues.
Where he heard it really doesn't matter but what DOES matter is making sure my son knows he's perfect in our eyes and that there is nothing wrong with him.


Hearing my son say that he has Autism was just heart breaking and gut wrenching.  
I knew we would have to explain it to him sometime in the near future but I wasn't ready to explain it to him just yet.  

I told my husband that tonight we would sit down and talk to him about it and help him to better understand it.  I was totally caught off guard when my son told me had Autism but I think I did a good job explaining it to him even though I was unprepared for it.
It just makes me so sad for him and I've been thinking for awhile that he senses he's a little different than some of the other children.  He plays with other kids but his interests are far different than that of his peers.  While they are playing with race cars and action figures,  my son is studying his globe and learning about space.  While the other kids are watching movies like Cars and Handy Manny,  my son is watching How It's Made.
It's not a bad thing at all but I do think that Sammy notices a difference between him and the other kids.

Sammy is an incredibly brilliant and gifted little boy.  He knows more about space and geography than most adults.  He's super smart and I want him to know that he can do anything he sets his mind to and that just because he has Autism it doesn't mean he's less of a person or that having that diagnosis will somehow hold him back in life.
 His Autism isn't debilitating and we are so thankful for that because it could be much worse than it is but that doesn't take away the hurt that comes with any sort of Autism diagnosis.
I know that Sammy will be okay but I don't want people attaching that Autism stigma to him as he grows up and him thinking that something is wrong with him.  I don't want him mistreated by peers and strangers when he goes into sensory overload or when he displays some of his social quirks.  That's the main thing I worry about for him as he grows older.